Report: South Bend truck drivers have one of the longest waits at warehouse for loads

by WSBT 22

WSBT 22 Photo

SOUTH BEND —

$1.3 billion, that's how much money truckers lose in wages annually waiting at warehouses for loads.

According to new research, truck drivers in South Bend have one of the longest waits in the country.

Researchers say the truckers wait at warehouses on average for two-and-a-half hours to pick up loads. But in South Bend the average wait is just under four-and-a-half hours, two hours more than the national average.

Researchers say South Bend ranks fourth in the country for longest load wait time, just behind Rochester, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania and Fresno, California.

Fort Wayne also makes the list ranking at ninth worst wait time in the country at 3.7 hours.

Experts say this points to inefficiencies in the trucking industry. Often times, truck drivers aren't paid for this time spent waiting.